DNA Barcoding for Paprika Authentication and Quality Assessment on the Moroccan Market

Paprika powder (C. annuum L.) is widely used as a culinary and therapeutic spice. The present study was conducted to authenticate eight samples of paprika purchased in different markets in the Rabat region added with a reference sample collected in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region using DNA barcoding. The applicability of the rbcL, psbA-trnH, psbA-trnH_PA/TH and ITS DNA regions as barcodes was tested for paprika authentication. For this purpose, DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing and phylogenetic trees were performed. PCR amplification for rbcL, psbA-trnH, psbA-trnH_PA/TH and ITS yielded amplicons of 200 bp, 750 bp, 700 bp and 200 bp size, respectively. ITS barcode sequences were of poor quality. The rbcL barcode was not discriminative, unlike the psbA-trnH, psbA-trnH _PA regions. Phylogenetic analysis showed that from the 8 samples of paprika powder, only the one coming from Bab el Had (B) was not authentic.